Friday, September 25, 2015

Greetings from the Worst Blogger Ever. I'm sorry I've been such an absent blogger lately! First it was because I was taking a much-needed work break, and now it's because all I ever do is work. I have a new book and I'm so excited for the day when I'm finally allowed to tell you guys a bit about it. For the moment, I'm working hard at it, trying to get it finalized. It's a strange book, and I don't know what anyone's going to think. That's out of my control, so I'm not worrying about it too much for now. I'm mostly just immersing myself in the experience of creating it. Once I'm allowed to talk about it, I think I'll have a LOT to say here about the process of writing it.

Soon I hope to be able to tell you what it's called, the premise, when you might actually be able to see it, etc…

In the meantime, I'll probably keep popping in now and then with more randutiae! Today I really, really appreciate Anna March's article at Salon, "Stop calling Pope Francis progressive: You might love his pastoral style, but don’t fool yourself on Vatican substance." YES YES YES. "Progressives should require that Pope Francis, or any leader, meet a minimum standard — to support equal opportunity regardless of race, gender, sexuality, class, disability and migrant/refugee status. To fail in any of these categories is, quite simply, to fail. And Pope Francis certainly fails. Progressives can do better than to laud this man. Progressives can be intersectional in our approach." Please read this article – and please stop calling Pope Francis progressive.

I appreciated Kate Harding's article about Susan Brownmiller at Cosmopolitan: "When a Feminist Trailblazer Turns to Victim-Blaming, It's Time to Let Go of a Hero." Excerpt: "If, 40 years from now, someone asks me what I think about young anti-rape activists, I hope my ego will allow me to profess admiration for whatever work they're doing to better the new world they've grown up in. But honestly, there's just as good a chance that I'll respond like Brownmiller, carping about kids' lack of historical awareness and respect for their elders, then adding a bunch of crap that sounds hopelessly outdated to anyone pre-menopausal. Either way is fine with me, really. If I get to the point where I have no idea what young activists are on about, or why they don't seem concerned with what most concerns me, it will probably mean they've taken what they needed from my generation's feminism and left the rest behind. I'm pretty sure that's what progress looks like."

I love Flipboard's "Pictures of the Week," which bring me the rest of the world on a weekly basis. Every week, the range of topics is stunning. There are so many things going on every day in the world that I don't have the slightest clue about! Lately, I notice that the pictures keep coming back to Syrian migrants and refugees trying to make their way to safety, and I really appreciate the way the photo editors are doing it. Sort of like, "Yes, there's a parade in Mexico City, yes, people are praying in South Sumatra, yes, there are devastating fires in California and Porsche has released a new model... and here's what's still happening to the Syrian people."

Quick Links

"Then, at last, sitting on her stretcher-bed, she took from the very bottom of her pack an old peacock-blue scarf folded around a heavy, square book. She unwrapped it and opened it very carefully, as if guilty secrets might fall from between its pages like pressed flowers. This was Harry's secret. She was a writer."

-from The Tricksters, by Margaret Mahy

Writing is my secret. Every day I unwrap and open it as carefully as I can. Welcome to my blog about writing and life! Above you'll find quick links about me and my books, and below is more about me, ways to subscribe, and an archive of past posts. Click here to go home to my most recent posts.

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About the Author

Kristin Cashore wrote the New York Times bestsellers Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue, all of which have been named ALA Best Books for Young Adults. Her next book, Jane, Unlimited, comes out in September 2017. Graceling is the winner of the 2009 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature and Fire is the winner of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award. The books are world travelers, currently scheduled to be published in thirty-four languages.

Finally, a note: This blog is my only online presence. I am not on Facebook, Google+, or any other social media sites, and I use Twitter solely as an amalgamation feed for my blog. Sorry, but I do not read @-replies on Twitter!